


Coming Home, Coming Out

by DesertVixen



Category: Baby-Sitters Club - Ann M. Martin
Genre: Coming Out, F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 09:51:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13097577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/pseuds/DesertVixen
Summary: Stacey makes a discovery about Claudia





	Coming Home, Coming Out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DWEmma](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DWEmma/gifts).



“It feels so weird to just stop in your kitchen to get snacks,” Stacey commented to Claudia. 

“Instead of pulling them out of a shoebox under my bed?” Claudia answered from within the depths of the closet. 

“It was more fun that way,” Stacey laughed. “Plus, you never knew where you might find something to snack on.”

“It wasn’t fun when Mom finally found out, though.” Claudia had come home one day after high school to find her mother attempting to tidy up her room. Rioko Kishi had not been pleased, to say the least. 

“No, I suppose not.” Stacey took a drink of her diet soda, then spotted the sketch book sitting on Claudia’s desk. Idly, she opened it and began to flip through it. 

Claudia had won the battle with her parents, who had initially been very against art school. The thought of another four years of school without art had made Claudia declare that she wouldn’t go at all. Art was her passion, and she had real talent, but the Kishis prized “useful” skills and more traditional paths. Finally, they had made a deal. If Claudia went to a community college for two years, and did well in her classes, her parents would help her with the financial part of art school. Living at home had been less exciting, but she’d had plenty of time to come visit Stacey at NYU. Claudia had upheld her end of the bargain, and had been spent the last year at an art school in Washington DC.

They were pretty scattered as juniors in college – Kristy was going to college in California on a softball scholarship, Mary Anne was studying at NYU with Stacey, Claudia off in the nation’s capital – but they still came together when they came home in the summers and on vacation. There was a Christmas party at the Brewers’ tonight for all the young people, and Stacey was really looking forward to it. It would be good to see everyone, she thought.

There was a pen-and-ink sketch of a beautiful young woman, with short curly hair and delicate features. It was so lifelike Stacey almost expected the woman to introduce herself. The picture on the next page was very lifelike as well, if a bit more detailed and anatomically correct. It was the same young woman drawn full-length, without any clothing at all.

“Found the skirt you wanted,” Claudia said as she emerged from the closet triumphantly, a short red skirt held aloft. She stopped short when she saw the book Stacey was looking through.

“I didn’t know you were doing figure studies,” Stacey said, then flipped the page again. It was another picture of the same woman, only she wasn’t alone. She was embracing, kissing, a young woman who bore a striking resemblance to Claudia.

“Those…aren’t for class,” Claudia said hesitantly. “That’s Gabby. We’ve been…dating,” she finished softly. “

Stacey looked at her, eyes wide with amazement. “Seriously? For how long? Why didn’t you tell me?” She closed the sketchbook with a snap.

“Not too long, a month or two. And I haven’t told anyone until now.” Claudia took a deep breath, then said in a rush, “I don’t think my parents are going to be happy. Again. As usual. And I don’t want to deal with it.”

“Well, I’m happy for you!” Stacey gave Claudia a hug. 

“Mom and Dad won’t be. They’ll try to act like it’s a phase I’m going through, just like they tried to do with my art.”

“Have you tried to talk to them?” 

“It’s hard to bring the subject up,” Claudia admitted. “I mean, they’ve never said anything bad about gay people when I was around, but they both put such a value on everything being…normal. And because I’m away from home…” Claudia shrugged. “It’s complicated, and I don’t want to talk about it.”

Stacey nodded. “You know if you want to talk about it, I’m here.”

“I know,” Claudia said, and gave her best friend a grateful grin. “It also just didn’t seem like the sort of thing I could tell you on the phone.”

“Before we move on, I have to ask one thing,” Stacey said. “What’s it like? Kissing another girl?”

Claudia grinned. “With Gabby? It’s awesome. Way better than kissing Alan Grey or Pete Black.”

“That wouldn’t take much,” Stacey teased, grateful to feel the tension lessening.

*** 

Claudia loved parties at the Brewers’ house. They were always crowded and noisy and full of life, with people of all ages milling around. It was the sort of party she could get lost in.

The kind of party Gabby would enjoy. Claudia could imagine her here, talking sports with Kristy or fashion with Mary Anne. They had met in an art history class – one of the required classes for the school’s program – when the teacher paired them up. Claudia was grateful to be paired with someone who wasn’t stuffy or flaky, knowing she probably needed all the help she could get.

They had clicked as friends, and later Claudia had started acknowledging that what she felt for Gabby was different, more intense. She’d felt the same way at the community college, had started to realize that she was attracted to women, but had no idea how to move on it. Instead, she had dated guys she knew and ignored the fact that she took way more notice of other women. Everything around her was focused on straight couples, on straight people, until she got to the art school. There were a lot more people there who were not only out and open, but comfortable with themselves.

Claudia envied them. 

Finally, one night over pizza at a late-night study date, Claudia had made the awkward first move. Gabby had told her later that she’d thought Claudia would never ask. She was much more comfortable being gay, being out, and Claudia had discovered that there was plenty to learn. Stacey had asked about kissing, but that was just the tip of the iceberg as far as Claudia was concerned.

She wanted to enjoy the relationship first, wanted to see where things led – no point in telling her parents if she wasn’t actually dating a woman. It seemed like her whole life had been spent not being what her parents wanted – not being a good student, not being smart like Janine, not being normal – and she was afraid this would be more of the same. 

Claudia was glad Stacey knew, a little sorry that she had doubted her best friend would have her back. She wanted to try the news out on Kristy and Mary Anne, but she didn’t want to move too fast. 

She didn’t want to get an answer she wouldn’t like.

Maybe next vacation, she told herself. They would just have to see.

**Author's Note:**

> So I hope you liked the story! I thought your prompt was fascinating, and wanted to do it some justice. I also wanted to keep things true to the characters and the time period (should be around 1999-2000) - and not necessarily have everyone thinking it was great. Some realism, but not enough to make it depressing.


End file.
